On October 4, 1992, at 17:20 UTC, El Al Israel Airlines (ELY) Flight 1862, a Boeing 747-200 freighter series airplane with three crewmembers and one non-revenue passenger customer on board, took off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The aircraft was on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, to Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, with an intermediate stop at Schiphol Airport for a crew change and cargo processing.

The weather was clear and dry at the time of the late afternoon (dusk) departure. The maintenance transit check had been performed prior to departure with no significant defects recorded.

Less than 10 minutes after takeoff, at 17:27.30 and at an altitude of 6,500 feet, the flight data recorder indicated the number 3 and 4 engines and their struts departed the aircraft. The co-pilot transmitted an emergency call: "El Al 1862, mayday, mayday, we have an emergency."